M4 Sherman
The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. Thousands were distributed through the Lend-Lease program to the British Commonwealth and Soviet Union. The tank was named by the British for the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman. Overview The M4 Sherman evolved from the M3 Medium Tank, which had its main armament in a side sponson mount. The M4 retained much of the previous mechanical design, but put the main 75 mm gun in a fully traversing turret. One feature, a one-axis gyrostabilizer, was not precise enough to allow firing when moving but did help keep the reticle on target, so that when the tank did stop to fire, the gun would be aimed in roughly the right direction. The designers stressed mechanical reliability, ease of production and maintenance, durability, standardization of parts and ammunition in a limited number of variants, and moderate size and weight. These factors, combined with the Sherman's then-superior armor and armament, outclassed German light and medium tanks fielded in 1939–42. The M4 went on to be produced in large numbers. It spearheaded many offensives by the Western Allies after 1942. When the M4 tank went into combat in North Africa with the British Army at El Alamein in late 1942, it increased the advantage of Allied armor over Axis armor and was superior to the lighter German and Italian tank designs. For this reason, the US Army believed that the M4 would be adequate to win the war, and relatively little pressure was initially exerted for further tank development. Logistical and transport restrictions, such as limitations imposed by roads, ports, and bridges, also complicated the introduction of a more capable but heavier tank. Tank destroyer battalions using vehicles built on the M4 hull and chassis, but with open-topped turrets and more potent high-velocity guns, also entered widespread use in the Allied armies. Even by 1944, most M4 Shermans kept their dual purpose 75 mm gun. By then, the M4 was inferior in firepower and armor to increasing numbers of German heavy tanks, but was able to fight on with the help of considerable numerical superiority, greater mechanical reliability, better logistical support, and support from growing numbers of fighter-bombers and artillery pieces. Some Shermans were produced with a more capable gun, the 76 mm gun M1, or refitted with an Ordnance QF 17-pounder by the British (the Sherman Firefly). The relative ease of production allowed large numbers of the M4 to be manufactured, and significant investment in tank recovery and repair units allowed disabled vehicles to be repaired and returned to service quickly. These factors combined to give the Allies numerical superiority in most battles, and many infantry divisions were provided with M4s and tank destroyers. After World War II, the Sherman, particularly the many improved and upgraded versions, continued to see combat service in many conflicts around the world, including the UN forces in the Korean War, with Israel in the Arab–Israeli wars, briefly with South Vietnam in the Vietnam War, and on both sides of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. In Flames of War All the Sherman tanks are medium tanks. They can be either deployed as formation support for another unit or as a separate formation: * Sherman Tank Company for the US Army (both in Mid-War and Late-War) * Sherman Amroured Squadron for the British Army (as above); * Lend-Lease Tank Battalion for the Soviets (described in Stalin's Europe). The German players also have the options to deploy the Looted Tank units (Beutepanzer) with Shermans. Mid-War The 75mm gun performs comparably well as its German equivalent used in Panzer IV F2/G (both have Anti-Tank 10), making the Sherman on par with the standard German tanks from Afrika Korps formations. The tank has comparable front armour to uparmoured Panzer III (6) and superior side armour to most of the German tanks (4 compared to 3). The American crews have Confident Green ratings, while the British ones - Confident Trained. he American 75mm M3 gun with Anti-Tank 10 was sufficiently destructive to endanger all Axis armour in theatre and the HE round is explosive enough with Firepower 3+ to cause Infantry and Guns to consider it as a serious threat. Added into the anti-personnel firepower is the excellent .50cal Heavy Machine-Gun on the cupola mount, backed up by Hull & Coax MG’s, providing a solid 4 shots of MG fire per Sherman to keep marauding Infantry hiding in their holes and reliably Pin enemy platoons as part of assault preparation. The differences between Shermans fielded from American formations is the loss of the Stabiliser, which reduces the volume of cannon fire on the move, this was commonly disabled by British crews even if supplied. Also, the British bring in a penalty to their Last Stand, shifting from Confident 4+ to a more reluctant 5+ as a ‘Fight Another Day’ rule. Heroics were sometimes called for, but the respect between the opposing sides of the Desert War often meant evasion or captivity was not so bad, better than the cold certainty of being dead. Late-War As for 1944-45 standards, the 75mm gun Sherman tanks can be compared to Panzer IV H/J, T-34/76 and Cromwell tanks: * the have slightly worse Anti-Tank value than the Panzer IV (10 against 11), the same frontal armour (6) and top armour (1), better side armour (4 against 3) and similar mobility; * the Soviet T-34/76 tank has better side armour than the Sherman (5 against 4) and better mobility at the cost of weaker gun; * finally, the Cromwell surpasses Sherman only in superior mobility. The 76mm gun Tanks The up-gunned variants (M4A1/76, M4A2/76, M4A3/76, M4A3E2/76 and M4A3E8) have the anti-tank value of 13, on par with Tiger tank and the M10 tank destroyers. Uparmoured Tanks M4A3 tanks can be fitted with additional armour on front and sides, which gives them Front Armour 8 and Side/Rear Armour 5. The M4A3E2 Jumbo variant also has the same increased protection, making it more difficult to blow up than the older variants. Model assembly Metal and resin model kits The pre-2013 metal and resin Sherman model kits consist of the following parts: * resin hull * resin turret * soft metal threads (left and right) * a soft metal gun barrel and machineguns * soft metal turret hatches and cupolas * tank commander's bust made of soft metal (one in a blister pack, five in platoon box sets). The platoon box sets also contain rare earth magnets and US Army decal sheets. The assembly itself is straight-forward, though some care is necessary when attaching the gun barrels to their locations. The included Browning M2HB AAMGs are often bent in not convincing angles and lack details - the best solution is replacing them with plastic machineguns. Plastic M4A3 model kits Those are assembled as shown in the diagram to the right. These sets have been available since 2013 and they contain two turrets for each tank - the 75mm gun turret and the 76mm gun turret. A 105mm howitzer turret can be built instead of the 75mm gun turret - the 75mm gun barrel has to be replaced with the howitzer mantlet with the short barrel. Additional armour plates are included for the front and the rear hull, if an uparmoured tank is planned to be built. Painting All the US Army tanks deployed to Europe between 1944 and 1945, as well as to the Northern Africa between November 1942 and 1943, were overall painted Lusterless Olive Drab as their standard colour. Combat efficiency Coming soon. Image gallery USAB09-13.png USAB09-15.png USAB09-16.png USAB09-18.png Sherman platoon.png Sherman platoon2.png Category:Vehicles Category:Tanks Category:Armoured Tanks Category:American Category:Allied Category:Mid-war Category:Late-war Category:Tank Teams Category:Observer Teams Category:Formations Category:Under Construction